Former England international Danny Mills has claimed that West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice won’t be at the club for much longer.
The 20-year-old has exploded onto the scene this season, earning a Three Lions debut in the process, and Mills believes his future lies away from the London Stadium.
“I don’t think it’s going to be at West Ham for very long, would be the answer,” he told Football Insider when asked where Rice’s future lies. “When I talked about young players earlier moving too soon, he’s proven he can do it over the course of a season, maybe more than that.
“He’s now on the international scene as well. Could he fit into Manchester City? Yes. Could he fit into Manchester United? Yes. Arsenal? Yes, and play regularly. Liverpool even? Yeah, he could actually, you can see that happening. He’s got that quality and he’s got that experience. I think if a big money move comes in from one of the big clubs, there’s every chance that he could move.
OPINION
West Ham fans won’t want to hear it, but Mills is probably right here. There can’t be too many people, even the most ardent of Hammers supporters, who genuinely think Rice is still going to be at the club in about three years time. He is so young and so talented that one of the Premier League’s big boys will surely come in with a big money bid for him sooner rather than later. That’s just the reality of being a top flight club outside of the big six. Your best players will consistently be taken from you, that’s just inevitable. So Rice could well make the switch to one of the teams Mills mentions, although Arsenal is probably not where he’s going to end up. You could see Rice at one of the Manchester clubs more so than Liverpool or the Gunners. However, the West Ham faithful will simply be hoping that they get as much time out of their young starlet as possible.
